Also part of me just hates all these rotary-powered Mazdas being stripped of the thing that defined their essence, the rotary engine.

A part of me dies every time I see a V8 swapped RX7. The whole point of the RX line is that it has a rotary. Sure, rotaries are goofy and temperamental engines with the thirst of a v8 and the torque of an inline 4, but they lend a certain character, soul, and identity to the RX's. Stripping that out for a small block ruins the point of the car, and I see it as a bit of a cop out.

This one is certainly still a cool car, but I'd prefer he'd done it to something else, maybe an old RWD Corolla or something.